


Luna

by Full_Moon_Lover



Series: 25 Days of Christmas [9]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dogs, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-09
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-09-07 13:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8802049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Full_Moon_Lover/pseuds/Full_Moon_Lover
Summary: “Hey stop! You’re stealing my neighbour’s dog! What the fu- oh they hired a dog walker? hahaha haha…ha…carry on.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day 9! Enjoy :)

People who hate dogs are monsters. Or at least that’s what Dan found himself thinking as he was petting his neighbour's dog for the fourth time that day. He couldn’t help it, he just loved dogs way too much for his own good and his neighbour was more than happy to let him play around with Luna. 

He really wished he could get a dog of his own but he just couldn’t afford it. Dan had almost done it once but, after a talk with his neighbour who told him looking after a dog was just as expensive as looking after a child, he decided to wait for a little longer. Besides, at times he felt as if he could barely take care of himself so adding a dog to that equation would probably not be a good idea. 

Instead, he let out all his love for dogs with Luna the husky and just promised himself that he’ll get one for himself as soon as he could afford it and maybe learned to take care of himself a little better. 

Most of the time, he was the one to take care of Luna while her owner was on holiday or away for work. Sometimes James offered to pay him and, even though Dan desperately needed the money, he always refused. It didn’t feel right to him to take money for something that he enjoyed doing so much and that he will gladly do for free. 

James was actually doing him a favour by letting him spend so much time with his dog, going as far as to let Dan spend hours in his apartment just playing with Luna. Really, other people would probably kick him out after five minutes so James was a saint in his eyes. 

Dan had been on his way to work early in the morning when he heard familiar barking. He smiled and started looking around, trying to spot where Luna was. Imagine his shock when he saw Luna being walked around by a complete stranger. 

Someone was trying to steal his favourite dog in the world and Dan was not about to let it happen. “Hey!”, he called out, trying to get the attention of the stranger but he had no such luck. Apparently, he was going to have to run after them. 

Dan was no runner and usually any form of exercise would have him whining and begging to get out of it. But if that’s what it took to keep Luna from being stolen, then he was willing to make the sacrifice. 

He ran as fast as he could, trying to catch up to the stranger holding the lead and grabbed his arm when he finally managed. He was quite embarrassed to notice that a thirty second run had him gasping and panting for breath as if he had just run a marathon. 

The stranger removed the headphones from his ears and turned to look at Dan with raised eyebrows. “Can I help you?” 

Dan looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Was this guy for real? He had just been caught in the act of trying to steal a husky and he was acting as if nothing was wrong? Dan was going to give him a peace of his mind. 

“You’re trying to steal my neighbour’s dog! What the fuck is wrong with you?” he snapped, snatching Luna’s lead from his hand and bending down to pet her. Poor Luna, she must be absolutely terrified.

Dan conveniently failed to notice the way Luna was wagging her tail and looking at Phil with what could only be described as proper puppy dog eyes. 

He had been half expecting the stranger to turn into a blubbering mess, apologising for trying to steal a dog and thankfully failing at it. Dan was already imagining the look on James’ face when he told him someone had tried to steal his Lua but he was brave enough to run after them and stop them. 

As invested as he was in his day dream of being a hero and saving Luna the husky from the evil clutches of the dog stealer, he barely heard what the stranger had to say in his defence. 

“I’m Phil, the dog walker James hired to take Luna out for a walk every morning.” 

Dan felt his whole day dream crash around him and he looked at Phil in what he could only describe as horror. Dog walker? Since when had James gotten a dog walker? How the hell was he going to get out of this one? 

Oh god, I just accused a dog walker of trying to steal his client’s dog. Dan thought he could safely classify this moment as one of the most embarrassing moments in his life. 

Phil was looking at him in what he thought was amusement and Dan couldn’t help but at least fee; relieved that he didn’t seem mad or offended. The last thing he wanted was for someone to try to pick a fight with him just because he was a tad too overprotective over his neighbour’s dog. 

James is going to kill me if he finds out what I did to his new dog walker. 

Phil was the first one to feel brave enough to break the awkward silence that had settled around them. “I take it you know Luna pretty well? I don’t think anyone would have such a reaction over random neighbour’s dog.”

Dan started to calm down and relax a little when it slowly started becoming clearer that Phil wanted to start a conversation with him rather than pick up a fight and he nodded. “James is a friend as well rather than just a neighbour. I look after Luna when he has to leave for a few days and I go play with her a few times a day.” 

He was aware of how weird he could sound to someone who didn’t know him and so didn’t know the extent of his love for dogs. It was almost as if Dan spent more time at James’ than he did in his own hoe and, although that wasn’t exactly a lie, it wasn’t really the impression he wanted to give Phil. 

Now that he wasn’t panicking over Luna getting stolen he could finally get a good look at the new dog walker James had apparently hired and he was liking what he saw. Under different circumstances, Phil would definitely be the kind of guy Dan would try, and fail, to talk to. Maybe he could use Luna as a topic of conversation? 

Phil didn’t seem to think he was too weird for spending so much time with his neighbour’s dog, judging by the way he smiled at him. “I only met Luna three days ago but I don’t blame you for wanting to spend so much time with her, she’s an amazing dog.” 

Dan could feel himself light up in pride and a small voice inside his head told him to keep it all under control. He just couldn’t help it. He felt as if someone had just complimented his own child and he couldn’t stop smiling. “Of course she is”, he ended up saying. 

He bent down to pet Luna a final time then turned to Phil to say his goodbyes when he was interrupted by Phil. “I was planning on taking Luna to the park nearby so she could play around freely. Would you like to come?” 

Dan knew he should say no. He was supposed to be at work in fifteen minutes and he knew that if he went to the park with Phil and Luna, he would be late for sure. But he just couldn't bring himself to refuse. Here was his chance to not only get to spend even more time with Luna than he already did, but also to get to know Phil a little better. He couldn’t pass up such an opportunity and he was sure Louise would understand once he could explain things to her. 

“Sure, that would be nice.” 

They talked all the way to the park and Dan was genuinely surprised at realising that he was actually really enjoying himself. He initially thought it would be a little awkward hanging out with someone who could be considered a complete stranger but it wasn’t. 

It was probably because they had a lot in common and so it felt like there was never a dull moment. If they were not talking about Muse then they were talking about their favourite anime and giving each other suggestions. Dan couldn’t find it in himself to feel guilty over missing work when he was having so much fun. 

They found an empty bench in the park and sat down. Phil took care of taking off Luna’s lead and they let her run around freely, making sure that she didn’t get too far away. Dan had known the husky for long enough to know that she would never run away. 

“So Dan, do you accuse all of Luna’s dog walkers of stealing her?” Phil suddenly asked, tone sounding amused. Dan could feel himself turn bright red at that and he half heartedly gave Phil a little push. 

“I’m sorry about that. You’re the first dog walker she’s ever heard so you can’t really blame me for immediately going for the worse when I saw you with her”, he tried to explain himself. He was still feeling really bad about it and hoped James would never get to know about it. 

His neighbour would either kill him or laugh at him for ages and Dan wasn’t sure which one he preferred the most. One thing was for sure, he would never let him forget about it if he ever found out so he just hoped Phil was capable of keeping his mouth shut. 

Phil seemed to be a little confused and Dan couldn’t really understand why. “I’m the first dog walker? But James told me she’d had loads of dog walkers before me but they all quit because she was too challenging for them. I should have known there was something weird when I started noticing there was nothing remotely challenging about Luna. She’s the most well-behaved dog I’ve ever met.”

Dan was at a complete loss. Why in the world would James tell Phil that his dog was challenging? He knew Luna was the sweetest dog ever, Dan made sure to constantly remind him over and over again. So why say it?

Judging by the blush on Phil’s face, he had figured it out. The problem was that he didn’t seem that interested in sharing with Dan and he couldn’t have that. “Come on Phil, spit it out.” 

“Uh…I met James at a bar a couple of nights ago. Apparently he and my friend are really good friends so we got to talking and shared a couple of drinks. My friend let it slip that I haven’t dated anyone in almost a year and then James said he knew someone that would be perfect for me after how much he heard me talk about my love for dogs”, Phil started to explain, still looking quite red. Dan had the feeling he knew where this was going but didn’t interrupt. 

“I said no, obviously, because I’ve never been one for blind dates. They make me really nervous. James then started talking about Luna and all his dog walkers quitting on him and offered me the job so I thought he had forgotten all about it. Apparently not…” 

Phil was looking at him as if he was expecting him to leave at any second but that couldn’t be further from what Dan had mind. He burst out laughing and just couldn’t stop. He could barely believe that James, his neighbour with the greatest dog in the world, had tried to set him up and instead Dan had thought Phil was stealing Luna. 

“I think it’s a good thing you said no to the blind date”, Dan said and bit his lip when he saw Phil’s face drop. “I’m not really one for blind dates so that would never have worked. I much prefer what we did today. Walking with Luna while getting to know each other, it was perfect.” 

Phil, who had brightened up considerably, smiled at him shyly. “Does that mean you would like to do this again? Because I don’t think I’m going to be quitting this job any time soon and you’ll get to see me a lot if you really visit Luna as often as you said you do.” 

Dan laughed and nodded. “I would love to do this again. And maybe I wouldn’t be so opposed to hanging out without Luna. I love her but James can look after his own dog while I go out for…dinner?” he suggested, smirking. 

“It’s a date.” 

Dan could hardly believe that Luna had actually gotten him a date. 

*

Months later, as Dan is getting ready for his six month anniversary with Phil, he will turn to Luna to thank her for introducing him to the most wonderful man he had ever met and pretend to not hear James whining about getting no recognition for his brilliant match making skills.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you enjoy Day 9 of 25 Days of Christmas?
> 
> I'm in Germany right now and the wifi at the hotel is average at best so bare with me if it takes me a little longer to post. 
> 
> Stay tuned for Day 10 tomorrow!


End file.
